A Bargain in Blood
by paynesgrey
Summary: Claire Bennet comes to Josef for help, and there is only one thing he wants from her in return. ONESHOT.


AN: This is an old idea I had when these two fandoms were still more active, and the prompt for HC_Bingo's April challenge finally gave me the motivation to write it. You could say this takes place during Moonlight some time, and between Heroes and Heroes Reborn. This is a one-shot and will not be continued.

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A Bargain in Blood

She stood across from his long, mahogany desk and showed him no fear. Usually when people met him for the first time, even if they didn't know what he was, their aura would spike from some kind of alert out of animal instinct. Not Claire Bennet, the young woman who just made history just a few weeks ago.

Josef vividly remembered the TV news footage of the girl climbing to the top of a ferris wheel and jumping to her death, only to stand up with body and bone broken and bruised, a fall that should have left her dead. She had pushed her bones back into her body, straightened her arm and looked into the camera with a purpose.

She had revealed an entirely new evolved race of humans, and to a vampire that was both intriguing and a little daunting as his kind had been living in the shadows for centuries.

Yet, Claire Bennet was not the type to hide. Well, until they had this interview.

"I'm not sure of what help I can be for you, Ms. Bennet," Josef said, starting the interview off by alleviating some of the obvious tension. "You seem to have more control over your own situation than I can handle. As you know, I am not the sort of person that wants to be quite as exposed as you are."

She cocked her head at him, and her eyes seemed to pierce through him. "That's not why I'm here. Our mutual friend suggested…"

"Ah yes, Mr. Gray," Josef said, cutting her off. "I would not jump to call him a friend, but we are acquaintances, and we have met under rather … unusual circumstances. I hope that my service to you can make up for a debt I owe him."

Claire shook her head. "Well, whatever. I know I could take care of myself, and you probably know that too, but right now I have to avoid some heat on me for a little while. My identity as an evolved human, or Evo, as they are calling us, has put me in a tight spot at the moment."

"I can understand that," he said, reclining more in his chair and steepling his hands thoughtfully as he allowed her to continue.

"I need to lay low," she said. "So Sylar suggested… I mean, Gabriel, said that I could come talk to you about helping me hide while I gather resources. He also said…"

Josef waved his hand as he knew where her next statement was going. "Don't worry about that. I will provide you any financial support that you need per our agreement. Now, as far as what else I can do for you…"

"Listen, I can't just take your support and do nothing. I will feel like I owe you, not just in Sylar's stead, but as myself. I don't know how much time I'll need, so I feel like I'll be relying on you a lot for awhile," she said. She cleared her throat and for the first time in their meeting, she looked visibly anxious. "I can do something for you, whatever you may need. Need a personal assistant? I'm your girl. Need some muscle or to collect some old debts? Well, I can't die or get hurt so I have no problem roughing someone up…"

He held up his hand to stop her. "Ms. Bennet, that's enough. Listen, I don't know if that's something I could ask of you. There is one thing though…"

Josef watched as Claire swallowed and avoided his eyes. She nodded, as if she knew all along that their conversation would come to this.

"I can do that," she said in a harsh breath.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I can manage fine on my own, but after my encounter with Mr. Gray, I feel like I've found a new aphrodisiac," he said, and he rose from his leather chair and looked at her hungrily with a seductive smile. "You special humans have the most...interesting blood."

Claire laughed nervously. "Well, I would guess so…" She still didn't meet his eyes. He was getting a little frustrated with her sudden bashfulness, and the behavior seemed ill-suited for a strong, determined woman such as herself.

He rounded the desk in an instant, coming behind her and breathing in the scent of her hair. He felt her body tense at his intrusion of her personal space, but she stayed rigid as he took her in, getting closer to her golden hair kissed by the sun. He felt the thrum of her pulse in his ears and it quickened when he lightly twirled a lock of her hair from her shoulder.

When he drew his hand away, she relaxed a little and slowly turned her head to meet his eyes.

"You don't have to seduce me. I'll give you what you want. You could drain me until I die, and I'd come back again, my body full of blood for a second round," she said, and her words seemed to entice him more than he could ever try to seduce her.

He looked down at her, raised a single eyebrow and smiled. "I think we have a deal, Ms. Bennet. So just to clarify… You need my help to keep your exposed identity safe for awhile. You need money to build your Evo underground network and protection from whomever may come after you, whether it be the government or fanatics. Am I correct?"

She nodded, and she looked relieved. She seemed content in their bargain.

"In exchange, you give me… well, whatever I want of you?" he asked, and she nodded again. "I'm glad Mr. Gray was so clear to you on my intentions."

"Yes, he did," she said, her tone low and husky. She seemed more confident in his presence, comfortable even. She didn't seem hesitant at all at what she was offering. Josef was delighted and he hoped that they could start this partnership right away.

"Very well. Now, to seal our deal, Ms. Bennet," Josef said, moving even closer to her. He took in her scent again as his mouth hovered over her shoulder. She craned her neck to him, saying nothing. Her compliance was all he needed.

He sank his teeth in quickly, and when she leaned into him moaning in ecstasy, he indulged at the sweet, addictive blood full of spark and power, incomparable to any human's blood that he'd had before. Evolved humans had a unique signature in their blood, one that mimicked their particular powers and Claire Bennet's blood surged with life and revival.

Josef felt renewed, like he was a young, teenage boy again holding a woman for the first time and filling her up with his vigor and youth. So he did as Claire Bennet asked; he drank her up until there was nothing left. And then he waited for her to come alive again, so then he could feed on her some more. As her power surged within his veins, he felt satisfied in this new partnership.

As long as Claire Bennet needed him, he was definitely going to enjoy her.

END


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